Crew seating arrangement

Backup Crew

Flight

Launch from Cape Canaveral (KSC);
landing at White Sands, Runway 17, Northrup Strip. The launch was delayed one
hour because of the failure of a heater on a nitrogen gas ground support
line.

Commander Jack
Lousma previously flew as Pilot of the
second Skylab crew, staying aboard the
space station for 59 days from July to September 1973. Jack
Lousma had previously been selected in 1978 as Pilot for
STS-2, which was then scheduled as a
Skylab reboost mission. When delays in the Shuttle's
development prevented Columbia from being launched in time to rendezvous with
Skylab in 1979, STS-2 Commander Fred
Haise
retired from
NASA and Jack
Lousma was then moved up as Commander of
STS-3.

This mission was the third test
flight of the Space Shuttle, carrying an array of astronomy and space
science payloads in its cargo bay. For the first time, the External Tank was
not varnished in white color, as in the first two flights.

Payloads
included the
OSS-1
pallet in the cargo bay of the shuttle.
OSS-1
obtained data on near Earth environment. Several other experiments
(Monodisperse Latex Reactor, Heflex Bioengineering Test and more) were carried
out.

The
STS-3 OSS-1
payload was dedicated to scientific investigations in space plasma physics,
solar physics, astronomy, life sciences and space technology. The payload was
designated OSS-1 because the program originally was managed by the office of
Space Science (OSS) at
NASA Headquarters. That office now carried the
designation of office of Space Science and Applications.The space plasma
physics experiments were the Plasma Diagnostics Package (PDP),
a project of the University of Iowa, and the Vehicle Charging and Potential
experiment (VCAP), from Utah State University. The solar physics experiments
are the Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM) - a Naval
Research Laboratory project -- and the Solar Flare X-Ray Polarimeter experiment
(SFXP) being conducted by scientists from Columbia University.

The
Contamination Monitor Package was designed to measure the buildup of
molecular and gas contaminants in the orbiter environment. The measurements,
when correlated with other instruments onboard
STS-3, were expected to provide valuable insights as
to how molecular contamination affects instrument performance. The
contamination package, located on the aft/port corner of the pallet, was 30.48
cm (12 in.) long, 17.78 cm (7 in.) wide and 17.78 cm (7 in.) tall. It weighed
7.7 kilograms (17 pounds), and it contained four temperature controlled quartz
crystal microbalances sensors that view both inside and outside the payload
bay. In addition, two passive witness mirrors, supplied by the Naval Research
Laboratory, were mounted on the experiment. The mirrors were coated with
magnesium fluoride over aluminum, a material commonly used for optics in
instruments designed to make ultraviolet measurements. The ultraviolet
reflectivity of these mirrors tested prior to and after flight to monitor those
contaminants which specifically affect ultraviolet reflectivity.

The
objectives of the Microabrasion Foil Experiment were to measure the
numbers, chemistry, and density of micrometeorites encountered by spacecraft in
near-Earth orbit. Data from those tiny particles were expected to yield new
basic information about the history of our solar system.The experiment was
a 1-square meter (10.76-square feet) sheet of 50 aluminum foil pieces of
varying density bonded to a plastic (Kapton) substrate or foundation and was
mounted on top of the Thermal Canister Experiment at the aft of the payload
pallet. As the micrometeorites hit the foil's thin surface, they puncture the
foil and form craters. Very light particles cannot penetrate the foil, but will
form an impact crater on the foil surface. Somewhat heavier particles will
penetrate the foil to a depth that depends upon the particle's velocity.
Heavier particles will not be fragmented and will survive almost intact. Icy
particles will fragment and form a number of small craters. An analysis of the
fragmentation profiles on the plastic sheet under the aluminum foil will yield
information on the particles' density. Those micrometeorites which at least
partially survive the impact will undergo chemical analysis.

The
Plant Growth Unit experiment was designed to demonstrate the effect of
near weightlessness on the quantity and rate of lignin formation in different
plant species during early stages of development. Lignin was the second most
abundant carbon compound (after cellulose) in plants and provided both strength
and form to the organism. The objective of the experiment was to test the
hypothesis that, under near or no gravity, lignin might be reduced, causing the
plants to lose strength and droop rather than stand erect. Some think lignin is
regulated by gravity.Few plants have been grown in space, although Russian
experiments over the last several years have demonstrated that near zero
gravity disorients root and shoot growth, enhances plant sensitivity to
substrate moisture conditions, and generally results in a high mortality rate.
During the
Skylab mission, U.S. scientists grew rice plants in
space. Little was known, however, about the physiological changes that occur
under near-weightless conditions. Understanding gravity's effects on plant
growth provided insight into plant physiology which is so necessary for an
effective biological life support system for man's habitation of space for
extended periods of time.Ninety-six plants were flown in the experiment on
STS-3 - 16 in each of six chambers were be carried in
the orbiter's mid-deck. The rectangular terrarium-like chambers were be sealed
and placed in a locker on the Shuttle within seven hours of launch. The locker,
the size of a filing cabinet, was completely automatic, requiring no flight
crew interaction, except that crewmen had to relay temperature data to
scientists in the Payload operations Control Center at Johnson Center twice
daily so that conditions surrounding the plants in space could be reconstituted
with a similar group of plants being used as a control group on Earth. The
control experiments were compared with the flight experiments following the
mission, and that comparison should provide an assessment of the validity of
the hypothesis that lignin will be reduced in plants grown in zero
gravity.

The Plasma Diagnostics Package was a comprehensive
assembly of electromagnetic and particle sensors that was used to study the
interaction of the orbiter with its surrounding environment; to test the
capabilities of the Shuttle's Remote Manipulator System; and to carry out
experiments in conjunction with the Fast Pulse Electron Generator of the
Vehicle Charging and Potential Experiment, another experiment on the
OSS-1
payload pallet. To achieve these scientific objectives, the package was
deployed for more than 20 hours, and was maneuvered at the end of the
15.2-meter (5O-foot)long arm three times during the mission - flight days
three, four and five. The package, developed by scientists at the University of
Iowa, Iowa City, operated while attached to the payload pallet for another 36
hours. In support of those objectives, the package took measurements of
electric and magnetic fields within 13.7 m (45 ft.) of the orbiter; ion and
electron densities, energies and spatial distribution; electromagnetic waves
over a broad frequency range; and determine the characteristics of the electron
beam emitted by the Fast Pulse Electron Generator provided by Utah State
University and measure the resulting beam-plasma interactions in terms of
fields, waves and particle distribution.

The Shuttle-Spacelab Induced
Atmosphere experiment, developed by the University of Florida, provided
data on the extent to which dust particles and various volatile materials
evaporating from the orbiter produce a local "cloud" or "plume" in the "sky"
through which astronomical observations can be made.Basically, a photometer
or sophisticated light level meter measured the amount of light and its
polarization coming, at any one time, from one direction in the sky in each of
10 different bands of color.A similar instrument flew aboard
Skylab in 1973. In fact, Jack
Lousma, Commander of
STS-3, worked that instrument on the
Skylab 3 mission he flew almost nine
years ago. On that mission, there was no discernible contaminant cloud in a
direction 90 degrees to the Sun. These earlier
Skylab observations constitute the baseline against
which new observations will be compared to establish levels of the local cloud
produced by the orbiter. The experiment also measured diffuse sky radiation as
seen from above the Earth's atmosphere. In the absence of contamination, that
radiation consists of zodiacal light, light from bright stars, integrated light
from faint stars, and diffuse galactic light. The experiment was located on
the starboard side of the payload pallet. Weighing 82 kg (180 lb.), the
instrument was mounted on a gimbal which can scan in a vertical plane running
fore and aft along the orbiter axis. Combined with the changing attitudes of
the Shuttle during the
STS-3 mission, the scanning motion will enable the
review of the entire sky between 20 and 120 degrees from the Sun.

The
Solar Flare X-Ray Polarimeter was carried aboard the
OSS-1
payload pallet on the
STS-3 mission to measure X-rays emitted during solar
flare activities on the Sun.The polarimeter instrument on
STS-3 used blocks of metallic lithium surrounded by
xenon-filled gas proportional counters, similar to Geiger counters but a bit
more sophisticated. If polarized (have their electric vectors lined up), the
X-rays were scattered by the lithium in a manner which permits the scientists
to deduce to what extent and what direction the electrons were moving in the
first place.The reason for the experiment was that the direction and extent
to which X-rays are polarized carries clues about the way in which X-rays are
produced by the Sun. These details were not well known at this time. In
operation, the instrument was aimed at the Sun by orienting the entire bay of
the orbiter, using a Sun-sensor on the other solar viewing experiment (the
Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor). The flight plan called for the
orbiter to remain in the bay-to-Sun attitude for approximately 28 hours.
Because flares occur on the Sun only sporadically in association with other
manifestations of magnetic activity such as sunspots, the observation of flare
emission is not assured. The instrument had sufficient sensitivity that even a
small event can yield a usable signal. In addition, flight rules dictate that
if a relatively large flare occurs while the crew is involved in any activity
other than sleep, consideration will be given to changing the attitude of the
spacecraft to the bay-to-Sun attitude to permit the flare measurements. Time
for such a maneuver took an estimated 15 to 20 minutes. The spacecraft could be
maneuvered bay-to-Sun while the Plasma Diagnostics Package is deployed on the
remote manipulator system in most cases.

The Solar Ultraviolet
Spectral Irradiance Monitor was designed to establish a new and more
accurate base of solar ultraviolet irradiance measurement over a wide
wavelength region.The instrument carried two independent spectrometers and
an inflight calibration light source which allowed tracking any sensitivity
change due to vibration at liftoff or contamination during flight. In addition,
the instrument was equipped with seven detectors which allow cross-checks of
possible detector changes.Interest in accurate measurements of the Sun's
ultraviolet radiation and its range of variability has been heightened recently
by increasing concern over long-range changes in the Earth's atmosphere and
climate. This short wavelength radiation, absorbed in the outer reaches of the
Earth's atmosphere, plays an important role in determining the physical
properties of the upper atmosphere and, by implication, in influencing the
condition of the lower levels that affect our lives and livelihoods.

The
goal of the Thermal Canister Experiment was to pave the way for simpler
thermal designs for protecting instruments and scientific experiments against
extremes of heat and cold in space. With the development of the Space Shuttle,
the opportunity exists for carrying out many scientific and technical
investigations in the orbiter bay.The objective of the Thermal Canister
Experiment was to determine the ability of a device using controllable heat
pipes to maintain simulated instruments at several temperature levels in zero
gravity, and under widely varying internal and external thermal loads. The
experiment was able to maintain a temperature stability of + 3 degrees C under
the cold temperatures when the payload bay is in an attitude away from the Sun
and under the warm temperatures experienced when the payload bay is pointed
directly at the Sun over an extended period of time.

The Vehicle
Charging and Potential experiment was designed to measure the overall
electrical characteristics of the Space Shuttle orbiter, including its
interactions with the natural plasma environment of the ionosphere and the
disturbances which result from the active emission of electrons. The experiment
measurements provided important information about the behavior of the orbiter
with respect to the ionospheric plasma, the extent to which electric charge
accumulates on the orbiter insulating (dielectric) surfaces and the manner in
which return currents can be established through the limited area of surface
conducting materials to neutralize active electron emissions. These
measurements provided important practical information which will guide the use
of larger electron accelerators on Spacelab 1; the development of plans for
dynamic electrical experiments such as the electrodynamics tether system; and
as a test of suitability of using the payload bay for making in situ
ionospheric measurements of geophysical interest.

As part of the
OAST program several more experiments were carried
out.The primary objectives of the Aerodynamic Coefficient Identification
Package were to collect aerodynamic data during the launch, entry and
landing phases of the Shuttle, to establish an extensive aerodynamic data base
for verification of and correlation with ground-based data, including
assessments of the uncertainties of such data and to provide flight dynamics
data in support of other technology areas, such as aerothermal and structural
dynamics.The Infrared Imagery of Shuttle (IRIS) experiment obtained
high-resolution infrared imagery of the orbiter lower (windward) and side
surfaces during reentry from which surface temperatures and hence aerodynamic
heating may be inferred. The imagery obtained utilizing a 91.5-cm (36-in.)
telescope mounted in the
NASA C-141 Gerard P. Kuiper Airborne observatory
positioned appropriately at an altitude of 13,700 m (45,000 ft.) along the
entry ground track of the orbiter. A single image was obtained during each
flight.Tile Gap Heating Effects (TGH) Experiment: The orbiter was
instrumented with a removable panel 45.7 cm (18 in.) square, which will carry
11 tiles of baseline material and size. The panel was fitted to the underside
of the orbiter fuselage. The gaps between tiles were be carefully calculated
and controlled during fitting to ensure that the heating rates generated during
entry will be no higher than those of the baseline tile array. The
Catalytic Surface Effects (CSE) experiment investigated the chemical reaction
caused by impingement of atomic oxygen on the Shuttle thermal protection system
which was designed under the assumption that the atomic oxygen would recombine
at the thermal protection system wall.

For the first time, a number of
experiments were carried in the shuttle's mid-deck lockers. These included a
Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System experiment to study the
separation of biological components, and a Mono-disperse Latex Reactor
experiment, to produce uniform micrometre-sized latex particles. The first
Shuttle Student Involvement Project (SSIP)  a study of insect motion -
also was carried in a mid-deck locker. The Heflex Bioengineering Test was a
preliminary test that supports an experiment called Heflex (for Helianthus
Annuus Flight Experiment), part of Spacelab 1 mission. The Heflex experiment
depends on plants grown to a particular height range. The relationship between
initial soil moisture content and final height of the plants will be determined
in order to maximize the plant growth during the Spacelab mission.

The
astronauts continued in testing the Canadian-built robot arm. Designed
as an analog to the human arm, the Canadarm has shoulder, elbow and
wrist joints driven by DC electric motors controlled by the flight crew using a
combination of direct visual observation and television cameras on the elbow
and wrist joints. The arm may be operated in five different modes ranging from
full manual to computer-controlled through hand controls and keyboard at the
payload station on the flight deck. The manipulator system was installed on the
left payload bay longeron for
STS-3. A second one can be installed on the right
longeron for specific payload tasks, although both arms could not be operated
simultaneously. The arm, built of a light-weight carbon composite tubing 38
cm (15 in.) in diameter, is 15.3 m (50.25 ft.) long, and weighs 408 kg (900
lb.). A thermal blanket provides temperature control for protecting joint-drive
mechanisms and electronics. Brushless electric motors and gear trains drive the
joints for pitch up/ down, yaw left/right and wrist roll motions. The "hand",
called an end effector, has snare wires that engage a grapple fixture on the
payload. Television cameras at the wrist and elbow provide the operator visual
cues for maneuvering the end effector toward a grapple fixture or other target.
Operator hand controllers are similar to those used for spacecraft maneuvers -
a rotational hand controller for roll, pitch and yaw motions, and translational
hand controller for up/down, left/right and fore/aft motions. When deactivated,
the arm is latched into three cradle pedestals along the left longeron. If the
drive mechanisms jam and the arm cannot be moved to its stowed position, and if
contingency spacewalks are unsuccessful in restowing, the arm can be amputated
with a pyrotechnic device.

A variety of minor problems were experienced
during the flight. The orbiter's toilet malfunctioned on first use resulting
in, according to Jack
Lousma, "eight days of colorful flushing"; one Auxiliary
Power Unit (APU) overheated (but worked properly during descent);
both crew members experienced some space sickness; and on March 26, 1982, three
communications links were lost.

The landing site changed to White
Sands since the planned landing site at Edwards
AFB flooded due
to excessive rain. High winds at White Sands resulted in one day extension of
the mission.
STS-3 was the only shuttle mission to land at White
Sands.